Was it intelligent to choose Dauntless?
by tikigarm
Summary: After going Dauntless, Tara faces a lot of problems. Initiation, ranking, and... Eric. Was it intelligent to choose Dauntless? Is it intelligent to be with Eric? Tara doesn t care about intelligent, but cares about brave and she is convinced that both choosing Dauntless and being with Eric are brave choices. WE DO NOT OWN DIVERGENT NEITHER THE CHARACTERS, JUST TARA AND SOME OTHERS.
1. Erudite

Chapter 1

In my house, I always need to be a different person than I really am. I have to be fake. Every day I need to wake up and get ready for school. I dress on with a blue buttoned shirt and my white pants, and go down for breakfast. My faction allows me to dress the way I want, but I need to use at least one blue piece of clothing. Down the stairs my breakfast is ready, two bagels with cream cheese and salmon because its healthy and contains a lot of good things for my body that I am supposed to memorize. That is one of the reasons that I want to leave Erudite, my parents faction. My intelligence is not enough to stay here, but I don't know where else to go. My sixteen birthday was two weeks ago, so that means that today is my Aptitude test and tomorrow my choosing ceremony. What will my Aptitude test tell me? Am I honest enough for Candor? Kind enough for Amity? Brave enough for dauntless? Intelligent enough for Erudite? The only thing that I know is that I will not be Abnegation. They are the "selfless" faction, but I don´t believe a word they say. Since little my parents told me that we, Erudite, are the perfect candidates for running the government because Abnegation is doing all wrong. I have been here looking at the mirror for too long, and I don't want my parents to come in and see how untidy is my room. I rush to the kitchen, and see my father reading the newspaper, my mother drinking a glass of orange juice rich in vitamin C, ( maybe I am not that bad for Erudite ), and my brother Marius eating a cookie. As expected, my bagels are waiting for me, and my father plays with my hair while I eat.

- Are you ready for you test Tara?- my father asks without looking at me.

-Yes… I suppose, since I have no idea what to expect.

- I am sure you will do okay, the same as Marius did last year.

I stand up and go to brush my teeth. My father is waiting inside the car for me, and I don't want him to wait. As I say goodbye to my mother, I get in the car as always. From my window I can see the perfect order in which Erudite work. They have the facts about everything, so they think they´ve got all the solutions.

As I look towards school I see the Abnegation sector, and I automatically gesture with disgust. At my side there is the perfect Abnegation family. Two kids and the parents perfectly dressed in grey clothes and not thinking of themselves. I recognize the father because he works at the council and I think his name is Andrew. Well, one of their kids isn´t acting like she should, she is playing with her hair, and her brother scolds her. She is small , and her brother has green eyes, but still he is just not attractive to me. Maybe I´m so influenced by Erudite that my brain automatically rejects Abnegation people.

This is stupid. I should be studying for my Math test instead of looking at them. We get to school and I wave my hand to my father and my brother, who both are going to the labs for work. I start walking to my classroom when I see a blonde, mid-aged woman dressed in a blue Erudite dress and heels. Jeanine Matthews. The only Erudite member in the council. I have seen her many times because my father works in the labs and my home is just two streets away, so I see her when she gets there at the afternoon. Since I was little, my father told me she was someone to admire and respect, but I always thought that she was too perfectionist and too ambitious, and now, looking better at her I can tell that I was not wrong, but neither my father was. She developed the Aptitude Test that I am taking today. She looks at me and I look away from her. Hope I didn´t stare too long.

My Math test wasn´t easy neither difficult. I thought it was about chapter 4 of the book but it was about chapter 5, but I think I did well and my answers were clear so I am not worrying about it. Besides, I have other things to worry about. I am reading a book while waiting for my turn to take the test. They call two names for each faction and they stand up heading to the Aptitude Test rooms that I have never seen before.

-And from Erudite: Tara Magel and Macy Hanends

I notice my hands drowning in sweat and as I walk to the door and I start to feel dizzy. The Abnegation man that called me guides us through a series of white and full of light hallways till we get to some rooms, and he makes us get one by one in each of the doors. An Abnegation woman is waiting for me at the last door, smiling. I enter to a small room full of mirrors and with a chair and a computer in the center.


	2. Aptitude test

Chapter 2

-Hi, my name is Lana and I´ll be administering your test. Please sit down.- and she gets to the computer.

I don´t want to talk to her because of the Abnegation-Erudite problems, but she seems so nice that I can´t help myself and I nod and smile at her.

-How are you?-she asks with Abnegation manners while she places the electrodes in my head.

-Fine, I guess-my answer may seem rude because I am supposed to ask her how is she, but I don´t want to be too polite with an Abnegation.

-You will pass through a series of events, and for that, can you drink this please?- she hand me a glass with a slightly blue, almost transparent liquid. I do not trust her, and she may notice that by the expression in my face.

-I know this is rare, but I cannot tell you more about it. Please drink it all.

I drink it all and notice its flavor, like sweet syrup, but slightly bitter. I close my eyes for a moment, but when I open them I see that Lana is gone. I stand up and walk to a table, that has a knife as long as my forearm and a piece of cheese.

-Choose- a voice says, but I don´t know where it is coming from. -Now, before its to late.

I think it for a moment, and realize that as I don´t know what is coming next, the cheese will keep me alive form more time because of its proteins, but the knife seems more useful, for what? I am not sure, but it just seems like and it will make me feel safer at least. So I take the knife and suddenly a big dog is heading towards me. My Erudite instinct tells me to get down as to show submission to the dog, but I don´t know for how long will it work. I decide is better to stab the dog when it approaches, but it starts running and my Erudite brain makes me get down, and just a second before it was too late, I raise my hand with the knife, killing the dog. I feel the warmth of blood in my hands, and I stand up trying not to look at the body of the animal I just killed.

Suddenly when I turn back, I am in The Hub. It isn´t the place I visit almost every day. Instead of the light coming in from the windows, all I can see is darkness and a waxing crescent phase moon. I start walking when someone grabs me by my elbow and when I´m about to scream, a big and dirty hand shuts me up. I bite him the stronger I can but he, or she, does nothing but keep walking to the elevator pulling me behind. It groans and pulls me harder, never letting my mouth free so that I can shout for help. I think it is a man because of his complexion. He has big arms and big shoulders. He smells something I recognize as blood and sweat. When the door opens, I can see two more people, but I can´t tell if they are woman or men, because they are faceless. They are wearing black, big jackets and pants that cover them completely, just letting a piece of skin visible at their necks. When I get to the elevator, the one that was pulling me just throws me inside and leaves me with the other ones. They laugh rudely, and I recognize their voices as men´s ones.

-Get rid of her. – he says as he walks away.

The door closes and I am at the floor when one of them gets to me and holds a gun right in the center of my eyebrows. He turns to face the other man, and nods at him. He nods back and throws something to me that seems as a little knife. I grab it quickly and try to cut his face, but he is faster and grabs me by my wrist. It hurts, but I never keep my eye away from him.

-Are you trying to defend yourself?- and he laughs without any lip movement because he misses a face- If that pathetic movement you did was all you´ve got, don´t even think about trying again because then you´re already dead.

I am afraid that he is right, because I have never hold a knife, so I just try to think about something I read in the Erudite Library that can help me now. I remember something about a big artery called the carotid artery that is on the neck and that is easy to see, so I just look over for it and I find it.

The man holding the gun looks away for a second, and before he notices it, the knife is already in his neck. He screams in pain, though I don't know where the scream comes from since he hasn´t any visible mouth and the man that was standing at the door grabs my arm with such a force that tears start to form in my eyes. He looks at his companion, but instead of looking sad because he is lying on the floor dead, he takes his gun and hands it to me.

-I may be scary little girl, but I play fair games- and gives me two bullets, keeping two for himself.

The elevator door opens and I rush to the Erudite Hall, where we have all our meetings with the other factions when they refuse to come to Erudite Headquarters.

It is surprisingly tidy, because we almost never use it. All books, chairs, tables and computers are in place. I look over my shoulder and find the perfect hiding spot. I can hide at the back of the Big System, a big boxlike structure that holds each piece of information that is typed in the computers. I wait for him to appear, and there pass several minutes for me to finally hear footsteps.

-Are you here sweetie? - I hear him say sarcastically as he looks down the tables, not near finding me. - Come out and play. Now!

His demanding voice makes me want to kill him more than I wanted to before. He is treating me like a little, inoffensive girl. I know it is stupid to remember this now, but when I was home I looked over the Big Library for some book or article that helps you guess people´s age. As I read through it, I noticed that I have almost all the characteristics that tend people to think you are mature and you are not a kid anymore. This is why his voice tone makes me so frustrated that I decide to do the stupidest thing I have ever thought of.

-I´m not sweet either playing with you- I said trying to sound as calmed as possible, but it didn´t work as well as expected.

-So you have decided to come out just like that? Without any protection it will be easy to kill you honey. – he says as he puts the bullets inside the chamber of the gun and before he can do anything, I run over and do the same to him as I did to his companion. As I rushed outside the elevator I thought it would be a good idea to take the knife just in case, and I thank my Erudite brain for helping me in these kind of moments. As I stab him, I feel an indescribable pain rush to my stomach, finding out is the bullet. He was not as slow as I hoped, but at least I killed him and I am not about to die alone, though I think is better to die alone than with a faceless, evil man at your side.


	3. Last Day in Blue Clothes

Chapter 3

Is dead being again at the Aptitude Test rooms, or am I alive? I see Lana smiling as she takes the electrodes out of my head and types something in the computer.

-Congratulations Tara, you got Dauntless.

A rush of fear and euphoria rushes down to my spine.

-Hmm… guess my parents will not accept this.- I mutter as my face smiles at the fact that I was not Abnegation, but I stop it because I neither got Erudite. This is going to be a hard decision to make. Maybe the worst I will ever be involucrated with, but I cannot escape my future neither avoid it. Tomorrow at the Choosing Ceremony I will decide the rest of my life, and I don´t care if my parents don´t like my choice, I don´t care if I disrupt my home´s peace, I don´t care if I have to lie to everyone about my results till tomorrow, and I don´t care if my new faction doesn´t teach me things that will make my parents be proud. I´m not selfless, not peaceful, not honest, not intelligent, I am brave. And I will prove that tomorrow.

-I guess I have to thank you, so thank you and good bye Lana.

-Good bye Tara- and she smiles. – Hope tomorrow your decision makes you feel good with yourself. Good luck.

I head to the door, knowing my way to our car. I see my father and I wave him. He opens the door for me and I get into the car, but not seeing Marius there.

-How was it? - he says an obviously curiosity voice. Very Erudite.

-Fine. Very good actually. – I lie. Not Candor.

-Well. We better go and eat. Your mother told me she made a special menu today because of tomorrow´s… Ehm… You get me right?

-Yes, I do. –I say

The last I notice is The Hub getting smaller and smaller and then I fall asleep.

We are getting to the Erudite Sector and I can tell it because I start to see white instead of black though I still have my eyes closed. I open them slowly and see my home ahead, and my father parks our solar panel system car right ahead. I open the door and head straight into my room, don´t caring about my mother´s dinner or that this will be my last day with my family. I get into my room and cry. Then I fall asleep, and wish that I could stay like this forever. In my bed with no one caring about me and no one bothering me, but it is not true that I want to be alone forever and I know it.


	4. Choosing Dauntless

Chapter 4

I wake up earlier than usual and go to get a bath. When I get into the shower, I notice how my body has changes these days. My hip bone and my waist are now at the correct size due to my age, and my body has now a lot more curves than last month. I wash my hair and when I get out of the shower, I find a navy blue dress with a blazer, and a pair of blue heels. I smile as I put it on and I head to the kitchen for oatmeal. I am not hungry but I force myself to eat.

We leave my house all together in the car, and no one says anything. I see the Hub in front of me and I start sweating. "Come down Tara, everything is going to be fine" I tell myself as we park and I get down. We walk towards the elevator, but we are not the first ones to arrive. There are a lot of people shouting and talking here. As we head to the elevator, I notice the Stiff I saw yesterday and her family getting out of the elevator and heading to the stairs. A selfless act, but I doubt that all the other Abnegation people are like them. I was wrong. Suddenly a mass of gray starts walking over the stairs, which leaves a lot more space I the elevator.

I see Dianne and Will coming to meet us, just after the door closed they get in and I blush because of him. Dianne is a very good friend of my mother, so Will and I played when we were little and I used to like him. I don´t know if I still like him, because it is not normal to blush when a boy you don´t like anymore smiles at you.

-Good morning Tara. – he says as he gets at my side and I hope he doesn´t notice I´m still blushed.

-´Morning Will

- Are you going on Erudite? – he whispers so that I am the only one who hears him

-Are you? –I ask laughing. I know him and he knows me good enough to see that none of us are going to stay Erudite.

As we get to the place I am supposed to seat, I smile at my mother as she smiles back and pointing at her watch. In Erudite, that is a "see you soon", but I am not sure that will ever happen. I get into a Candor girl and thanks god, at my side is Will. His last name is Marteens, so he gets to choose before me. For the look in his eyes, it seems that he already knows his decision, and I hope my decision has been made to.

The speech has been made and a lot of names are called till I hear Marcus Eaton, an Abnegation leader that is in charge of the Ceremony this year, start with the M last names.

-Marteens, William- he says as he hands the knife to Will.

Will hesitates a little, but then the same look that he had minutes ago comes back and he moves his hand towards the bowl that is at the left.

-Dauntless – says Marcus as Will walks towards his new faction.

I know what will come next and I am not sure that my decision has been made.

-Magel, Tara- Marcus´s voice hits my head deeply like a headache.

I walk towards him with all the strength I have for not running away from here. As I walk I see Lana smiling at mi left and top side, and I smile back at her.

I take the knife and cut my pal. If it hurt I didn´t noticed. My blood starts to come out and I have to decide fast or my blood will start spilling on the carpet. I move my hand hesitantly into the same bowl as Will did, and before I think what I was doing, I hear my blood sizzling on the lit coals.

-Dauntless- says Marcus as I hear murmurs from Erudite, cheers from Dauntless and I walk towards Will, who seems really impressed by my choice.


	5. Eric

Chapter 5

I help him stand up and we walk to a crowd that has gathered around what seems like two Dauntless men. One has dark, black and greasy hair. Green eyes and tan skin, which I can barely see because of his tatoos. He has a lot of tatoos, but what caughts more my attention are his piercings. He has too much metal, and I can see their holes from where I am standing. The other man looks younger, and also has tatoos on his arms and a piercing at the top of his eyebrow. He doesn't look like a nice person though. He has brunette hair, white skin and steel grey colored eyes that meet mine and scan me. I look away, but not as fast as to avoid the smile that crosses his face.

-Hello initiates. My name is Max and this is Eric. – Eric smiles, but not the same smile that he had when he looked at me a minute ago. This is an evil smile, one that intimidates and scares. - We are Dauntless leaders and are here to supervise you as you jump.

-Jump? - asks the Candor boy that was smiling at me in the Choosing ceremony.

-Yeah Smartmouth. Or are you scared? - Eric says.

-Is there water or something at the bottom? - it had to be Will, looking so Erudite.

-Guess you'll find out when you jump. Someone has to be first. - and Eric smiles, evil smile again.- Come on initiates, who is it going to be?

I don't want to be hated by Eric for a reason I haven't discovered yet, and I want to be Dauntless. I need to be Dauntless. Just when I was about to say "me", the Stiff at my right says it. I think her last name is Prior because her father is in the Council and she was the one I saw walking yesterday at the Abnegation sector.

She approaches to the edge of the ceiling, and when I look down I am glad that I was not the first jumper.

- Is for today initiate- Eric says with a bored face. –Have a good trip.

She jumps. She is falling and then she disappears through the black hole and I cannot see her anymore.

-Who´s going to be next? – Eric says loudly.

I hesitate for a second, but then I think that I will have to do it anyway, so I step forward.

-Me- I say and I approach the edge of the ceiling.

-All yours Nose- Eric says.

-I am not a Nose, and unless you want me to tell everyone here you were a Nose, leave me alone. - I tell him when I pass him.

- Be careful, remember I am the leader here. - he murmurs. - But I have to admit you are brave for challenging me, and I like that.- he smiles and winks at me.

I look down and all I can see is the dark hole that seconds ago swallowed the Stiff. My logic tells me that Dauntless leaders will not kill all their initiates, and that is what motivates me to continue, and also that the Stiff didn´t shouted or made any signal of pain.

- If I am going to do this, I will do it my way. - I tell Eric and Max and walk to the back of the ceiling. The initiates leave me a way to walk through and I look at Will, who looks stunned. Before somebody tells me to stop, I run and when my right foot touches the edge, I lean forward to perform a somersault that I read at a book in the library. The first stage stated in the book is to lean forward, and then I need to pull my weight to the back. As I am doing this I see that I will not be able to perform the full trick and that I am a little at the right of the hole. I am going to hit myself with the wood around the hole for sure, and I will hit my head or my ankle. I decide is better to hit my ankle, and just in time I pull my head back as my ankle hits the wood. The wood breaks and I hear a crack. Hopefully it is the wood and not my ankle, but by the pain that stings all my leg from my nails to my hips, I can tell that the noise came from both the wood and my bone. I hit again something, and after I catch my breath I can see that I hit a net.

-Are you okay? - asks a man that is helping me to get down. He has blue eyes, and has a concerned expression on his face. He is handsome, but he is not my type. He seems too kind of a good man for me. I like crazy, impulsive but caring men.

- Yes, I´m fine. – I said, but my voice sounded more like the voice of a little girl talking to her mother than the voice of 16 year old Dauntless initiate that has just jumped of a ceiling.

He gets me to the ground, and I scream, but instead of laughing at my weakness, he tells me to sit down while he gets the pieces of wood out of the net for the next initiate not to fall on top of them.

-What exactly was your point on doing that? –he said.

-I don´t really know. I think it was just me trying to perform the tricks that I saw on the books at the Library. – I said as he scanned my clothes, and after he saw the Blue, he just nodded. - Then when I was already falling, I realized that I needed at least 42 feet of height and… -he stopped me with disgust on his face.

-If I wanted to read books, memorize them and then talk to people about useless facts, I will have chosen Erudite. And if you like to do this sort of things after choosing Dauntless, it will be better if you let Eric know and you leave now.

He turns back and walks to the net, waiting for the next initiate to fall on it. I think he will not be one of my favorite persons here, but he will definitely not be one of the worst ones. I wait for the next person to jump, because I want to know who it is going to be. Hope it is Will so I have someone to talk with. I try to concentrate on everything but my ankle. It hurts a lot and I want to see if it is already bruised and purple. I take out my shoe and I see that my feet has been turned 90° degrees right. It is totally twisted and it is already purple. As I put on my shoe again, I see a black clothed person fall into the net. It is not Will, but someone is better than no one. I try to find out who is it, but the only thing I see is that he is tall, muscular and has brunette hair. Then those steel colored eyes meet mine. Eric.

-Just because you cannot get out of the net alone Four, doesn´t mean that I cannot do it myself.- Eric says as he waves his hand in a "move" intention.

Four moves away, but not gladly. Eric gets down and approaches to me.

-I thought Noses were intelligent, but by looking at this, I think there are some exceptions.- he looks at my ankle.- Are you staying here all day?

-What do you mean by that? I cannot even stand up by myself.- I say.

-Well, I think I can help you with that.- he gives me a hand, but I think it´s not a good idea to take someone´s hand if you have just meet them, and especially if it is Eric. I reject it.

-I am not supposed to get help from strangers- I say

-Okay. So stay here, but if you stay I am afraid that you´ll have to live happily ever after with the factionless.

-Fine. But as I told you, I can´t stand up.- I say and he offers me his hand again.- I mean that even with a hand.

-Right. So then let me carry you. - Eric smiles.- I´m Eric. I´m a Dauntless leader and I am 18 years old. Hope it´s enough for you to stop considering me a stranger.

-I think it´s enough. - I say laughing as I let his arms wrap around my waist, lift me up and then carry me. - For now.

He smiles and he carries me through a series of dark corridors. There are only few lights, but by the way Eric walks I think he has them memorized.

-So, who told you I was a Nose?- he says.

-Nobody told me. I remember you because your father worked with my father in the labs.- I say.- Don´t you remember my father?

-Maybe. What was his name?

-Richard Magel. He was the one in charge of the serums. - I say proudly.

-Oh yeah. He was the that stupid man that had dark hair, blue eyes and those useless glasses.- he says.- My father knew him well.

-Don´t call him stupid Eric. - I shout maybe a little too loudly. - He is still my family.

-I don´t think so. Faction before blood right?

-You know what Eric? It is actually better hear Jeanine Matthews´s speeches than hearing your annoying voice in my ear. - I push myself down and he smiles- What? I´ll get myself to the infirmary. Walking.

-Okay. –he lets me down, kind of rudely. –But I want to see you get there. If you want I will only watch you or I can help you.

-It will be fine if you just leave me alone.

-I´m afraid I don´t want to lose you today. –he says and then he adds fast. –I mean that I don´t want to lose you or any other initiate today. –and he scratches the back of his head uncomfortably.

-Right. But if you are following me, please keep your distance.

-Yes sir. –he says. –I didn´t know that Noses could be so demanding. –and he smiles again.

I put my hand in the floor and push me up with them. When I get to my knees, I put my left foot on the floor and push myself up with it. When my right foot touches the floor, I groan in pain.

I start walking, first pushing with my left foot and then I put my right foot on the ground. Then I push with my right foot and I feel something go through the skin in my ankle. I look down and see it is my bone and also that there is a puddle of blood forming around my foot.

-God Nose! –Eric shouts and picks me up. He starts running. –We need to get to the infirmary now!

Eric is running with me in his arms. I can see my blood falling to the floor and then I hear Eric saying.

-Please don´t close your eyes! Promise you´ll be okay but try to stay awake!

Then all I can see is black.


End file.
